As this review goes to press (are we allowed to use that term, here in Internet-land?), I'll be on a plane back to New York from New Orleans, my second trip in six weeks, part of a gloriously futile effort to sample all of the Crescent City's best eats in the name of researching the upcoming Serious Eats book. And one of the things I'm struck by, when I visit the city, is how its offerings truly span the economic spectrum. Sure, there's fine dining to be had—but there are also life-changing $8 fried chicken plates and $6 po' boys that will ruin you for all other sandwiches. It's in this tradition of cheap, satisfying fare that Honeychiles, a Cajun food counter inside divey Williamsburg punk bar The Charleston, opened a few months ago. More

If the original Bayou on Staten Island was an eclectic Bourbon Street bar, the newly renovated restaurant is now a stately, elegant French Quarter establishment. A mini Galatoire in New York City's southernmost borough. Elegant mirrors and chandeliers, fleur-de-lis... More